Management Information Sheet
Review of Arrangements for KS2 Testing and Teacher Assessment 2012
Although the Standards and Testing agency are now producing regular information bulletins to schools, the situation this year is complicated and a summary may be helpful.
KEY ISSUE:
Arrangements for assessing writing at KS2
ALL pupils completing the KS2 programme of study in July 2012 MUST undertake a Level 3-5 writing test, whether externally or internally marked. In either case the marks obtained in the test will NOT be reported to any external body and will NOT appear in RAISEonline. The test marks must be considered by the school when arriving at their final teacher assessment judgements, as part of the evidence base.
Level 3-5 internally marked writing
Schools which neither opted to have their writing tests externally marked nor were chosen as part of the national sample have now been sent packs of L3-5 writing tests. These tests can be administered at any point from now up to 30 June, and there is a Test Administrator's Guide (TAG) specifically to support this test.
http://goo.gl/TTtaC
The principle guidance is that in order for the tests to be of any help to schools in coming to an accurate teacher assessment they should be used, as intended, in normal test conditions - ie unseen and unprepared:
Schools that use the test materials to prepare children before administering the test should consider that this may lead to inaccurate results that do not represent children's unaided abilities. This would also narrow the range of evidence that a school may wish to use for making a teacher assessment. L3-5 TAG
The test should therefore be administered in accordance with the TAG under normal test conditions and marked according to the mark scheme criteria (supplied with the papers), in order to provide an alternative resource to help teachers to secure and benchmark their judgements. Should schools open the tests in advance and prepare pupils by teaching to that task, a useful resource may have been lost.
In the event of moderation (see below) schools will be asked to discuss how they have made use of the test results, but the tests themselves will not constitute evidence for the moderation.
Level 6 internally marked writing
This test is available now, online, through the NCA Tools website, along with the mark scheme. The test should again be administered in accordance with the relevant Test Administrator's Guide: http://goo.gl/VvUf6
Level 3-5 externally marked writing
If schools have opted for external marking of writing (or have been chosen for the national writing sample), their writing tests will arrive in April along with the reading and mathematics papers. In this case, the papers should be kept securely and administered in exactly the same way as the other subjects. Guidance can be found in the Access and Reporting Arrangements for 2012 (ARA)
http://goo.gl/Tmlxz
Nevertheless, results will NOT be published and will be used only to support the school in making an accurate teacher assessment judgement.
OTHER ISSUES:
Level 3-5 reading and mathematics
These tests must be administered in the normal way, to all eligible pupils, in accordance with the statutory requirements outlined in the ARA (see link above). Security of the tests must be maintained from the receipt of papers to the dispatch of the completed scripts to external markers and this will be subject to monitoring by unannounced LA test security visits.
Level 6 reading and mathematics
Although these tests are optional, once pupils have been entered for them they then become subject to the same administration and security requirements as the other externally marked tests and subject to the statutory regulations in the ARA as well as test security monitoring. A Test Administrator's Guide will be published later in the year and it will be especially important to study this closely as these tests will be scanned for online marking and it is important that all practical guidance is closely followed to ensure legibility.
National samples for science and writing
Although the results of these tests are not published externally, nevertheless the administration and security requirements are the same as for the other externally marked tests and subject to the statutory regulations in the ARA (see link above) as well as test security monitoring.
Level 3-5 and L6 writing - moderation
Local authorities are required to carry out moderation of KS2 teacher assessment of writing on behalf of the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) of the DfE. 25% of schools will be subject to this external moderation of their teacher assessment irrespective of whether they have used the internally or externally marked test.
Moderation will take place between 21st May and the end of June and schools will be given between one and two weeks notice of their appointment. No preparation is necessary for moderation and STA are anxious that schools should not be distracted from good teaching by a perceived need to collate or annotate. Schools should simply bring children's work from across the curriculum (including literacy lessons) which, through discussion with the moderator, shows how they have made an accurate level judgement, especially of pupils' ability to use and apply their skills independently.
Full details of moderation arrangements will be sent to schools at the start of the summer term.
Year 1 Phonics Check
The checks must be carried out during the week of 18th to 26th June and full guidance for their administration is available in the ARA for Y1 phonics screening check, along with sample materials, on the DfE website at: http://goo.gl/WZw1N
Other material, including the Check Administrator's Guide and Training video for marking the checks, will be available from the same section of the site at the end of April.
The Scoring guidance will be provided with the check materials when they are sent to schools and must NOT be opened before the check week.
The LA will be monitoring the administration of the checks through unannounced visits to selected schools and further details will follow in June.
Further information:
For urgent enquiries please telephone Janet Warburton on 01603 307798
or
Email : assessment@norfolk.gov.uk and your query will be forwarded rapidly to the appropriate person.
KEY ISSUE:
Arrangements for assessing writing at KS2
ALL pupils completing the KS2 programme of study in July 2012 MUST undertake a Level 3-5 writing test, whether externally or internally marked. In either case the marks obtained in the test will NOT be reported to any external body and will NOT appear in RAISEonline. The test marks must be considered by the school when arriving at their final teacher assessment judgements, as part of the evidence base.
Level 3-5 internally marked writing
Schools which neither opted to have their writing tests externally marked nor were chosen as part of the national sample have now been sent packs of L3-5 writing tests. These tests can be administered at any point from now up to 30 June, and there is a Test Administrator's Guide (TAG) specifically to support this test.
http://goo.gl/TTtaC
The principle guidance is that in order for the tests to be of any help to schools in coming to an accurate teacher assessment they should be used, as intended, in normal test conditions - ie unseen and unprepared:
Schools that use the test materials to prepare children before administering the test should consider that this may lead to inaccurate results that do not represent children's unaided abilities. This would also narrow the range of evidence that a school may wish to use for making a teacher assessment. L3-5 TAG
The test should therefore be administered in accordance with the TAG under normal test conditions and marked according to the mark scheme criteria (supplied with the papers), in order to provide an alternative resource to help teachers to secure and benchmark their judgements. Should schools open the tests in advance and prepare pupils by teaching to that task, a useful resource may have been lost.
In the event of moderation (see below) schools will be asked to discuss how they have made use of the test results, but the tests themselves will not constitute evidence for the moderation.
Level 6 internally marked writing
This test is available now, online, through the NCA Tools website, along with the mark scheme. The test should again be administered in accordance with the relevant Test Administrator's Guide: http://goo.gl/VvUf6
Level 3-5 externally marked writing
If schools have opted for external marking of writing (or have been chosen for the national writing sample), their writing tests will arrive in April along with the reading and mathematics papers. In this case, the papers should be kept securely and administered in exactly the same way as the other subjects. Guidance can be found in the Access and Reporting Arrangements for 2012 (ARA)
http://goo.gl/Tmlxz
Nevertheless, results will NOT be published and will be used only to support the school in making an accurate teacher assessment judgement.
OTHER ISSUES:
Level 3-5 reading and mathematics
These tests must be administered in the normal way, to all eligible pupils, in accordance with the statutory requirements outlined in the ARA (see link above). Security of the tests must be maintained from the receipt of papers to the dispatch of the completed scripts to external markers and this will be subject to monitoring by unannounced LA test security visits.
Level 6 reading and mathematics
Although these tests are optional, once pupils have been entered for them they then become subject to the same administration and security requirements as the other externally marked tests and subject to the statutory regulations in the ARA as well as test security monitoring. A Test Administrator's Guide will be published later in the year and it will be especially important to study this closely as these tests will be scanned for online marking and it is important that all practical guidance is closely followed to ensure legibility.
National samples for science and writing
Although the results of these tests are not published externally, nevertheless the administration and security requirements are the same as for the other externally marked tests and subject to the statutory regulations in the ARA (see link above) as well as test security monitoring.
Level 3-5 and L6 writing - moderation
Local authorities are required to carry out moderation of KS2 teacher assessment of writing on behalf of the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) of the DfE. 25% of schools will be subject to this external moderation of their teacher assessment irrespective of whether they have used the internally or externally marked test.
Moderation will take place between 21st May and the end of June and schools will be given between one and two weeks notice of their appointment. No preparation is necessary for moderation and STA are anxious that schools should not be distracted from good teaching by a perceived need to collate or annotate. Schools should simply bring children's work from across the curriculum (including literacy lessons) which, through discussion with the moderator, shows how they have made an accurate level judgement, especially of pupils' ability to use and apply their skills independently.
Full details of moderation arrangements will be sent to schools at the start of the summer term.
Year 1 Phonics Check
The checks must be carried out during the week of 18th to 26th June and full guidance for their administration is available in the ARA for Y1 phonics screening check, along with sample materials, on the DfE website at: http://goo.gl/WZw1N
Other material, including the Check Administrator's Guide and Training video for marking the checks, will be available from the same section of the site at the end of April.
The Scoring guidance will be provided with the check materials when they are sent to schools and must NOT be opened before the check week.
The LA will be monitoring the administration of the checks through unannounced visits to selected schools and further details will follow in June.
Further information:
For urgent enquiries please telephone Janet Warburton on 01603 307798
or
Email : assessment@norfolk.gov.uk and your query will be forwarded rapidly to the appropriate person.